Coldwater Creek in North County (St. Louis, Florissant: house, neighborhood, buy)

[glamatomic]

Hi Everyone!

My husband and I are considering a house in Florissant which backs onto Coldwater Creek. Initially my concern was flooding so decided to do a bit of googling to see if Coldwater Creek floods- of course what I found was much worse!

North St. Louis County group files 2nd suit alleging nuclear waste caused illnesses : Stltoday

It seems there have been some class action lawsuits regarding nuclear waste in the creeks, and inordinate radiation levels in the area through the 1990s. The information I've found online through various sources seems to indicate that nobody really knows what the situation is now as the cleanup has not yet been completed.

Does anybody have personal experience with Coldwater Creek? Does it Flood in heavy rain? Should the potential toxins in and around the creek still pose a threat, in your opinion?

Scary Stuff! Definitely could be a deal breaker!

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

-A

[flynavyj]

Glam,

I have "semi-regular" experience with coldwater creek. Much of my family grew up within a stones throw of the creek, in a small neighborhood where the new hazelwood industrial complex is going in (just North of the rail road tracks, west of Lindbergh) and had owned property there since the mid-late 1800's, until McDonald Douglas purchased the land back in the 1980's. There were still several properties there until the 1990's that I remember from my childhood, but i was a dying community by then, and no properties were ever redeveloped, they were simply bulldozed.

I know the army corps of engineers had come in to reduce the radiation levels. The area that's been the source of the most questions is just East of Lindbergh, North of Banshee Rd, and backs to the creek. However I've also heard rumors that the reason the newly build Industrial area West of Lindbergh is still empty is soil contamination levels which are keeping many builders from breaking ground.

If memory serves me right, the creek flows to the North here, towards the Missouri/Mississippi rivers and Florissant. As a kid, I can remember the creek levels being rather high at times, but I don't have any memory of it breaching it's banks...especially the steeper banks, but I don't remember being that close to the creek during the 93' flood...so I can't give you an accurate assessment of that.

I don't know if I'd be running away from the property, but I'd definitely talk to some neighbors to get an idea of the creek levels and flooding potential. If I was writing a contract, I'd also request it be contingent on a soil sample if you're worried about radiation levels...that or buy a cheap gigacounter to check.